STRAY NATURE-NOTES 265 



plated such an undertaking at one time is certain ; 

 indeed, he went so far as to make a beginning of 

 it in the pages of the Naturalist. He did not, how- 

 ever, proceed far with his History, if indeed he can 

 be said seriously to have taken it in hand at all, 

 probably for lack of time. He only noticed in his 

 papers, and that very briefly and disjointedly, about 

 ten different species of birds, although from twenty 

 to five-and-twenty kinds had been known to build 

 in his garden from time to time ; and, besides these, 

 there were many others, of greater or lesser rarity, 

 that had been at different times seen in the neigh- 

 bourhood. 



He frequently expressed the wish that a rookery 

 might be formed in the trees around the Rectory, 

 and in the spring of 1880 there seemed every 

 prospect of the permanent establishment of one. 



This event was a matter of the greatest interest to 

 him, and for many weeks he carefully watched and 

 noted down the movements of the birds, and the 

 progress they made in the work of colonisation. 

 The habits of the Rook are so curious and mys- 

 terious that the faithful record of any lengthened 

 observation of their ways, especially, perhaps, in 

 such a work as the formation of a new rookery, is 

 worth noticing. The following are some of the 

 notes, rough and incomplete though they be, which 

 were made in this case : 



" 1880, February 3rd Rooks making a great caw- 

 ing overhead. March ist The first rooks' nest 

 began to be built here ; about finished on the i4th. 



